The Pigs now hold a 2nd place spot in the International League North Division, behind SWB Yankees and tied with the Paw Sox with a 14 win – 12 loss record.
We all knew the bullpen would be a strength this season, with younger prospects returning for another year in the Lehigh Valley.
Let’s look at the numbers.
Ironpig’s starting pitchers have a combined ERA of 5.20. They have 6 wins and 10 losses with 97 strike outs compared to 35 walks. Vance Worley has the season’s only complete game.
The bullpen looks like this… 2.74 ERA, 107 strike outs compared to 47 walks with 9 holds and 7 saves.
While the starters are allowing more runs, 72 in 125 innings.. the bullpen has allowed more walks.
It seems both are doing their jobs effectively, keeping in mind the numbers include Feierabend’s bad night in this last home stand.
For the hitters, Bocock and Naughton have the highest average at the moment, albeit not many at bats so I will go with Erik Kratz’s .306 average as being the team leader. Larish is at the top of the HR list with 6 and Frandsen the RBI’s with 15. Also of note is Rich Thompson’s 11 Stolen bases.
Looking good so far…
Well this road trip out west (Not sure if the covered wagon’s Matt Provence spoke of this week will be transporting the team) will be a certain test for this revitalized Ironpig team.
They start with a 4 game set in Columbus. Granted they have an additional travel day to rest up… but Columbus has been trouncing its opponents. Sporting a 21 and 5 record, they have lost only twice at home in 2011. Being able to stand up to the 2010 Governor’s Cup champions will open eyes around the league about the performance of Sandberg’s crew.
From there the Pigs move on to Toledo for a breath of fresh air. (Is there a such thing as fresh air for Pigs?) Toledo is just above the .500 mark with a 14-13 record and have played better on the road than at home. 4 and 6 home, 10 and 7 on the road. Perhaps the 5,995 faithful fans who show up in Toledo each game are a distraction to them?
Of note! The Lehigh Valley fans are again on top of the International League in attendance with a 8,266 average per game! In fact, we lead all of AAA baseball, with Round Rock coming in second with 7,654 per game.
Oh yeah, the Pigs won today closing out the 4 game series with the Buffalo Bison. The Pigs took the series 3 to 1 without the need to pull out the tarp. It was a beautiful day at gametime and the school kids out for education day were enthusiastic. Not sure if it was the game or missing school, but there for sure was a dismal performance by former Ironpig Val Pascucci. Pascucci narrowly missed dropping an easy fly ball early in the game to complement his 0 for 4 with 3 strike outs day at the plate. Now THAT’S the Pascucci we remember!
Tomorrow is an off day, hopefully we will get some entertaining news. I really hope I don’t have to use the streaker tips provided by Grilli via Twitter. (It’s a joke for anyone thinking I’m serious)
OinK!
noisenation.mlblogs.com 
Looking at some of the crowds this year on TV2, I’m amazed the average was that high!
We sure lucked out with the weather. The other day it really looked like at the very least there would be a delay. I’m down for the third morning game on the 24th May, but might also come in for a night game, once the person likely going with me decides on the date.
AVERAGE ATTENDANCE 8200——AVERAGE THAT HAS SHOWED UP 6800—-AVERAGE IN 5TH INNING 3000—————–AND 10,000 YESTERDAY? MORE LIKE 7200
David Herndon has been optioned to the Ironpigs. J.C. Romero off the DL and back on the Phillies roster.
PIGS CAN’T LOSE NOW—-WE JUST LOCKED UP THE PENNANT WITH HERNDON
If there is anything positive about facing a team that is 21-5 and has just 2 losses at home it’s that Clippers team ace Zach McAlister (5-0 3.09) just pitched on Tuesday and with the off-day on Wednesday he is currently not scheduled to pitch in the 4 game series vs. the Ironpigs. The 4 pitchers scheduled to face the Ironpigs have a combined record of just 5-3. Game 1: Corey Kluber, 0-2 6.50; Game 2: Joe Martinez, 1-0 4.91; Game 3: lefty David Huff, 3-0 3.19; Game 4: Scott Barnes, 1-1 5.40.
The Ironpigs pitchers will have to be at the top of their game because they’ll be facing a Columbus offense with a .294 team batting average. They have scored 166 runs which is over 40 more than any other International League team. Five players who see regular playing time are hitting over .300 and 2 others are over .280, including Chad Huffman who is the team leader with 5 homeruns and 20 RBIs. We should also get to see old friend Jason Donald who is working his way back from an injury and is currently hitting .412 (7-17).
Looking at Columbus game results this year, the Clippers are 7-0 vs. 8-19 Indianapolis; 2-3 vs. 16-10 Louisville; 4-2 vs. 14-13 Toledo; 4-0 vs. 14-11 Gwinnett; and 4-0 vs. 9-16 Charlotte. It should be an interesting series and hopefully the Ironpigs will open a few eyes around the International League. Game 1 of the 4 game series begins at 6:35 on Thursday.
Thank you, Decal! It would be nice to get a good “Pen” day out of Gordon et al today, as this may be our best chance to lock in a win. I don’t like the looks of game 3; I don’t think we’re hitting lefties that well, and my confidence in Bass is low right now.